I’m outraged about the Putin-Witkoff “Peace” deal. HCR and Timothy Snyder give great insight. It would be devastating for Ukraine and democracy if Zelensky signs it.
I don't think that the Felon has had any power that has not been supplied to him by the far more nefarious and ultimately dangerous cadre of his handlers--Vought, Miller, Thiel, Bessant--who are using JustaDick Vance as their not-very-effective Manchurian Candidate, whom they expect to take over the begilded-with-plastic Oval Office in the not too distant future. There is where the risk exists. Why do I say that? Because the Felon is clearly losing his marbles and even the people around him are well aware that his galloping dementia can be disguised for only so long. Moreover, the ONLY thing he is truly interested in is money and The Grift and as long as they let him get on with taking bribes and enriching himself, along with the Wormtongue whispers about how he deserves the Peace Prize, which flatters his rapidly diminishing brain, they will have carte blanche to run the show. Sure, there are "loyalists" such as his Stepford Wives Noem and Bondi and all the rest of the harem of botoxed ex-"Beauty Queens." But I suspect they take their actual orders from Miller and Vought. The group that is truly keeping him propped up on his plastic throne is SCOTUS. And until we can figure out a way to get their arses on the hot seat (and the Epstein disclosures might indeed do that for at least three of them) we are disempowered. They have to be made to understand that their compliance with fascists will have consequences from which they are not immune.
Love this! Well said. The only thing I might say is that, while I agree about the evil behind the throne and their likely plan for Vance, I believe that they will have to undermine the election process a whole lot more than they have so far to get Vance elected. Trump has this weird, outsized, perverted charisma for the average MAGA supporter that Vance clearly does not so if Vance (or anyone other than Trump) is the candidate, I think many of them will stay home. Trump just has a unique way of lighting a fire under this large group of uninformed, self-pitying dupes that Vance does not.
Oh I totally agree TF--Vance is unelectable. But I suspect their plan is for the Felon to resign before the end of his term, maybe even before the midterms. That way they can install Vance. I also suspect that even if Dems take over both houses of Congress in January 2027, the threat of Vance will prevent them from impeaching the Felon for a third time and making this one stick. Indeed, having him resign before the new Congress is installed in January would be the most effective way of shortcutting the plan.
Vance comes off to this 83 year old as a creep. For all of his other shortcomings (?) and psychological afflictions, Trum does not seem a creep. Now on to whether a creep can cut it with MAGA.
John. The Felon is NOT a creep? He is a rapist who has been convicted of sexually assaulting a woman and accused of doing so by at least TWO DOZEN more, a bloviating misogynist arse who demeans women on a daily basis who also encourages others to threaten women with violence--DAILY. If you don't recognize that as the ULTIMATE in creepiness I don't know what to say to you.
I met a MAGA person yesterday who said he didn't know about the Epstein situation and wondered if I thought that Trump was evil and could do nothing right at all. (Like it was my problem, and not what Trump does.) I said that, regardless of what he did, his history tells us that there is nothing he does that does not have a self-serving or grudge element to it. (Crickets, then changes the subject.)
Then I read about "Trump Derangement Syndrome." It's as if people (and I) just hate Trump for the fun of it, as if the great opposition to him has nothing to do with what he is and has been doing, and as if they do not understand STILL that their own country is being destroyed--like everything will stay the same.
There is also a deadly relativism lurking underneath the whole MAGA movement--as if there is no truth or authentic objectivity that one can legitimately claim to know about and support--like the rule of law or the rules of evidence--just power conflicts between the people involved, revealed in the openly contemptuous attitudes of Miller, Vought, etc., and the Beauty Pageant Bimbo Brigade for Congressional or Press questioning--it's all about intimidation and Lording it over anyone who conflicts with what they want and think is theirs.
So, if being "woke" (which I gladly claim) means that one is woke to truth that I do not own but must live by, and a recognition of objectivity gained through reasonability and collective evidence, and it's rooted in the values embodied in the Constitution and our founding documents, it is no wonder MAGA hates "woke" so much. It flies in the face of the overblown delusional personal power of 'bullyism" that never grew past the K-6 schoolyard.
BTW I quickly closed down the above conversation when the MAGA man I was talking with started talking about his (apparent) Christian nationalism, sounding like a risen charlatan of olden times, like Jimmy Swaggart. It was the furthest thing from a reasonable conversation I have ever been involved in. Be aware, it's out there.
Eh, they'll not read it, and if they heard it spoken, they'd likely have quoted Trump with cries of "quiet, piggy". If nothing else, the cries of 'fake news' will resound.
Trump seems to realize his power may be diminishing, but that means he will speed up rushing towards his goals. His big goal is to form very personally profitable relationships with Putin and MSB, two other greedy, narcissistic dictators.
We have to strongly push the Senate to defend Ukraine. Trump, despite all his denials, is not only a pedophile he is Putin’s Puppy. He is the one who should be tried for treason. Perhaps someday he will be.
Everything will become more erratic than it already is. He will one minute imagine getting the deal to build the new housing project in NYC and the next minute be selling more fighter jets to god only knows who... This man has no reset. No back to normal button. He has no concept of the needs of other humans. That's beyond him. It has never been part of his concerns.
Fears of losing power will exacerbate erratic behavior with more tantrums, unfounded personal attacks, and more weird pronouncements. Violent attacks and responses will increase. This is already happening with the threat against House and Senate members.
The hell with this peak wish. We need him to crash and burn in infamy, NOW!. He's an existential threat, causing lethal harm and danger at home and around the globe. So, what if some of his ploys and intentions get pushed back, he's still having people killed in the Caribbean and encouraging death and destruction in the Ukraine and that elected officials alerting U.S. service men and women not to engage in illegal actions should be murdered where they stand.
Yup - here's a bit of what the 'ceasefire' is looking like in Gaza...not a word about any of this in The Contrarian, or most US media for that matter:
Israel has killed at least 312 Palestinians and wounded 760 since the “ceasefire” went into effect on October 10— leveling entire neighborhoods and destroying more than 1,500 buildings. It has also continued to restrict the amount of aid into Gaza and has not allowed the agreed-upon 600 aid trucks per day into Gaza—what the United Nations has said in the past is the bare minimum amount needed.
At least 67 Palestinian children have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire went into effect on October 10, according to UNICEF—an average of almost two children killed every day.
Meanwhile, Israel has ramped up its attacks in the West Bank, killing two teenagers yesterday, while settler attacks are reaching a fever pitch. Every day more homes are raided and Palestinians are abducted in the West Bank by the IDF.
Human Rights Watch published a 105-page report titled “All My Dreams Have Been Erased” that concludes the Israeli government’s forced displacement of the populations of three refugee camps in the West Bank in January and February amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity. The 32,000 people displaced have not been permitted to return to their homes.
The next "Undaunted" I want to read about in the Contrarian is Gaza and the people of Gaza who somehow manage to survive and try to return to homes that no longer exist. Chicagoans and North Carolinians are doing a great job of resisting ICE. But we need to keep attention on Gaza and Ukraine and what we're NOT doing to prevent atrocities we've abetted.
Absolutely Donna! I agree with your important comment to keep our attention on what is happening in Gaza and Ukraine and what we can do to help prevent those atrocities. Thank you Donna for mentioning this
“The most dramatic evidence of democracy’s resilience and Trump’s dictatorial frustration was his getting steamrolled on the bill requiring the release of the government’s Epstein files….”
I would argue that democracy reared its head and said “enough!” In the state elections held across the country on November 4. He and his agenda got its ass kicked. I don’t believe Congress would have caved as soon or at all on Epstein without the overwhelming vote literally everywhere against his fascist bullshit.
Apparently, even for MAGA, a sense of sexual ethics coupled with an abhorrence of child abuse trump Party affiliations--and whether any of them understand what's really at stake or not.
I really appreciate this "round up." It is near impossible -on many levels - for me to read every article published by the contrarian and this allows me to at least get the gist of the ones I have not read.
Jen, Why not push congress to hold public epstein hearings with witness immunity and have all victims state what happened to them, by whom and whom they have non disclosure agreements with so we can see who tried to pay off from also criminal prosecution?
Trump is just reading the room and shifting acting tactics as he races to implement dictatorship otherwise he is ousted and sent to prison. He is laughing at us every day falling for his lies.
Pmpmpm: Yes, and Zelinsky is supposed to believe Trump's promises, and that that after he signs, we will support him and his country, and Putin will cease his aggressions.
I am hopeful that we get a solid connection to Russia and Trump soon. Perhaps thru Bank Records, Epstein Estate, Whistleblowers? America needs to understand that there is more to Epstein. Trump's behavior with Putin signals a strong relationship more than likely based in blackmail.
Bless Ukraine and their democracy and decency. Come on Europe! We need you to step up!
A., Russian connection could rid us of Trump Administration, Cabinet, etc.
Kind of fits that Epstein noted in one of his emails That Trump having "not one decent cell in his body." I have met some very bad people, none as bad as Trump." (Feb 2017)
Even obvious to Epstein. Kind of like looking in a mirror, but right on!
SOMEBODY or group of somebodies who are very powerful are at the center of the holdback of the Epstein files, including but beyond Trump, who is also always doing the bidding of the oil and gas industry (climate, drilling, etc.). They are watching Larry Summers' demise, losing sleep, and sweating profusely from feeling the heat from the fires of their own self-made hell.
It would appear that Don the Con is just now figuring out that being a dictator is a whole lot of work. Not what he signed on for. For one thing, interferes with tee times.
My profound thanks to Norm, Jen & the whole team for being one of the very, VERY few papers in the country to unequivocally stand with justice and democracy. Most others seem to feel that what is right for their pocketbook is also right for our country.
We need to fix that now. We must get big money OUT of politics.
The WH East Wing reconstruction. The July 4, 2026 celebrations. I want to hear what's being done to ensure that there is no further construction at the White House without impartial professional oversight. I want to hear how Philadelphia and Boston keep him off center stage during their events. He has no place in them, given his efforts to destroy all that our Revolution and our independence was about.
These matters aren't as atrocious as are his misuse of ICE and murders on the high seas. They don't compare with all the other cruelties of this Administration. But they are emblematic of his (mis)use of unfettered presidential power to impose his self-aggrandizing priorities on the nation. It must be ended.
I’m outraged about the Putin-Witkoff “Peace” deal. HCR and Timothy Snyder give great insight. It would be devastating for Ukraine and democracy if Zelensky signs it.
Also see Phillips O’Brien.
And now it turns out that this "deal" is nothing but putin's wishlist given to trump's golfing buddy witkoff.
I don't think that the Felon has had any power that has not been supplied to him by the far more nefarious and ultimately dangerous cadre of his handlers--Vought, Miller, Thiel, Bessant--who are using JustaDick Vance as their not-very-effective Manchurian Candidate, whom they expect to take over the begilded-with-plastic Oval Office in the not too distant future. There is where the risk exists. Why do I say that? Because the Felon is clearly losing his marbles and even the people around him are well aware that his galloping dementia can be disguised for only so long. Moreover, the ONLY thing he is truly interested in is money and The Grift and as long as they let him get on with taking bribes and enriching himself, along with the Wormtongue whispers about how he deserves the Peace Prize, which flatters his rapidly diminishing brain, they will have carte blanche to run the show. Sure, there are "loyalists" such as his Stepford Wives Noem and Bondi and all the rest of the harem of botoxed ex-"Beauty Queens." But I suspect they take their actual orders from Miller and Vought. The group that is truly keeping him propped up on his plastic throne is SCOTUS. And until we can figure out a way to get their arses on the hot seat (and the Epstein disclosures might indeed do that for at least three of them) we are disempowered. They have to be made to understand that their compliance with fascists will have consequences from which they are not immune.
Love this! Well said. The only thing I might say is that, while I agree about the evil behind the throne and their likely plan for Vance, I believe that they will have to undermine the election process a whole lot more than they have so far to get Vance elected. Trump has this weird, outsized, perverted charisma for the average MAGA supporter that Vance clearly does not so if Vance (or anyone other than Trump) is the candidate, I think many of them will stay home. Trump just has a unique way of lighting a fire under this large group of uninformed, self-pitying dupes that Vance does not.
Oh I totally agree TF--Vance is unelectable. But I suspect their plan is for the Felon to resign before the end of his term, maybe even before the midterms. That way they can install Vance. I also suspect that even if Dems take over both houses of Congress in January 2027, the threat of Vance will prevent them from impeaching the Felon for a third time and making this one stick. Indeed, having him resign before the new Congress is installed in January would be the most effective way of shortcutting the plan.
Vance comes off to this 83 year old as a creep. For all of his other shortcomings (?) and psychological afflictions, Trum does not seem a creep. Now on to whether a creep can cut it with MAGA.
John. The Felon is NOT a creep? He is a rapist who has been convicted of sexually assaulting a woman and accused of doing so by at least TWO DOZEN more, a bloviating misogynist arse who demeans women on a daily basis who also encourages others to threaten women with violence--DAILY. If you don't recognize that as the ULTIMATE in creepiness I don't know what to say to you.
My understanding of "creep" is marginal personality, just barely there, ergo Vance.
Let's give Trump the 'PIECE PRIZE." Pun intended.
Love the "beauty queen" reference. I also call them the Bimbo Brigade.
JustaDick.......love it !
I cannot take responsibility for it. It was the winning name voted on by Andy Borowitz's Substack followers. Just seems appropriate.
Brava Linda M.
When you put it that way it shouldn't be beyond the meanest understanding the MAGA's can muster.
I met a MAGA person yesterday who said he didn't know about the Epstein situation and wondered if I thought that Trump was evil and could do nothing right at all. (Like it was my problem, and not what Trump does.) I said that, regardless of what he did, his history tells us that there is nothing he does that does not have a self-serving or grudge element to it. (Crickets, then changes the subject.)
Then I read about "Trump Derangement Syndrome." It's as if people (and I) just hate Trump for the fun of it, as if the great opposition to him has nothing to do with what he is and has been doing, and as if they do not understand STILL that their own country is being destroyed--like everything will stay the same.
There is also a deadly relativism lurking underneath the whole MAGA movement--as if there is no truth or authentic objectivity that one can legitimately claim to know about and support--like the rule of law or the rules of evidence--just power conflicts between the people involved, revealed in the openly contemptuous attitudes of Miller, Vought, etc., and the Beauty Pageant Bimbo Brigade for Congressional or Press questioning--it's all about intimidation and Lording it over anyone who conflicts with what they want and think is theirs.
So, if being "woke" (which I gladly claim) means that one is woke to truth that I do not own but must live by, and a recognition of objectivity gained through reasonability and collective evidence, and it's rooted in the values embodied in the Constitution and our founding documents, it is no wonder MAGA hates "woke" so much. It flies in the face of the overblown delusional personal power of 'bullyism" that never grew past the K-6 schoolyard.
BTW I quickly closed down the above conversation when the MAGA man I was talking with started talking about his (apparent) Christian nationalism, sounding like a risen charlatan of olden times, like Jimmy Swaggart. It was the furthest thing from a reasonable conversation I have ever been involved in. Be aware, it's out there.
Eh, they'll not read it, and if they heard it spoken, they'd likely have quoted Trump with cries of "quiet, piggy". If nothing else, the cries of 'fake news' will resound.
Well said, Ms Mitchell!
Trump seems to realize his power may be diminishing, but that means he will speed up rushing towards his goals. His big goal is to form very personally profitable relationships with Putin and MSB, two other greedy, narcissistic dictators.
We have to strongly push the Senate to defend Ukraine. Trump, despite all his denials, is not only a pedophile he is Putin’s Puppy. He is the one who should be tried for treason. Perhaps someday he will be.
Everything will become more erratic than it already is. He will one minute imagine getting the deal to build the new housing project in NYC and the next minute be selling more fighter jets to god only knows who... This man has no reset. No back to normal button. He has no concept of the needs of other humans. That's beyond him. It has never been part of his concerns.
Fears of losing power will exacerbate erratic behavior with more tantrums, unfounded personal attacks, and more weird pronouncements. Violent attacks and responses will increase. This is already happening with the threat against House and Senate members.
There is a place waiting for post-president Trump . . . under a great big bus.
Hi I liked this but unless I missed it, you did not mention our abandoning of Ukraine.
Our betrayal is so devastating for the country that is fighting so hard against Putin.
Please interview Congressional Republicans re orders to kill.
Trump railed against the don’t follow illegal orders video because all his military orders have been illegal.
The hell with this peak wish. We need him to crash and burn in infamy, NOW!. He's an existential threat, causing lethal harm and danger at home and around the globe. So, what if some of his ploys and intentions get pushed back, he's still having people killed in the Caribbean and encouraging death and destruction in the Ukraine and that elected officials alerting U.S. service men and women not to engage in illegal actions should be murdered where they stand.
Repeating what's said below. You need to cover the "Peace" deal they're trying to force on Ukraine.
Yes. And that "ceasefire" in Gaza. With all the (needed) Epstein noise, we've ignored our international infamies.
Yup - here's a bit of what the 'ceasefire' is looking like in Gaza...not a word about any of this in The Contrarian, or most US media for that matter:
Israel has killed at least 312 Palestinians and wounded 760 since the “ceasefire” went into effect on October 10— leveling entire neighborhoods and destroying more than 1,500 buildings. It has also continued to restrict the amount of aid into Gaza and has not allowed the agreed-upon 600 aid trucks per day into Gaza—what the United Nations has said in the past is the bare minimum amount needed.
At least 67 Palestinian children have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire went into effect on October 10, according to UNICEF—an average of almost two children killed every day.
Meanwhile, Israel has ramped up its attacks in the West Bank, killing two teenagers yesterday, while settler attacks are reaching a fever pitch. Every day more homes are raided and Palestinians are abducted in the West Bank by the IDF.
Human Rights Watch published a 105-page report titled “All My Dreams Have Been Erased” that concludes the Israeli government’s forced displacement of the populations of three refugee camps in the West Bank in January and February amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity. The 32,000 people displaced have not been permitted to return to their homes.
The next "Undaunted" I want to read about in the Contrarian is Gaza and the people of Gaza who somehow manage to survive and try to return to homes that no longer exist. Chicagoans and North Carolinians are doing a great job of resisting ICE. But we need to keep attention on Gaza and Ukraine and what we're NOT doing to prevent atrocities we've abetted.
Absolutely Donna! I agree with your important comment to keep our attention on what is happening in Gaza and Ukraine and what we can do to help prevent those atrocities. Thank you Donna for mentioning this
Its a great idea..i fear that will never happen in this outlet though.
“The most dramatic evidence of democracy’s resilience and Trump’s dictatorial frustration was his getting steamrolled on the bill requiring the release of the government’s Epstein files….”
I would argue that democracy reared its head and said “enough!” In the state elections held across the country on November 4. He and his agenda got its ass kicked. I don’t believe Congress would have caved as soon or at all on Epstein without the overwhelming vote literally everywhere against his fascist bullshit.
Apparently, even for MAGA, a sense of sexual ethics coupled with an abhorrence of child abuse trump Party affiliations--and whether any of them understand what's really at stake or not.
I really appreciate this "round up." It is near impossible -on many levels - for me to read every article published by the contrarian and this allows me to at least get the gist of the ones I have not read.
Thanks for all your good work.
Ditto!
Jen, Why not push congress to hold public epstein hearings with witness immunity and have all victims state what happened to them, by whom and whom they have non disclosure agreements with so we can see who tried to pay off from also criminal prosecution?
Trump is just reading the room and shifting acting tactics as he races to implement dictatorship otherwise he is ousted and sent to prison. He is laughing at us every day falling for his lies.
Pmpmpm: Yes, and Zelinsky is supposed to believe Trump's promises, and that that after he signs, we will support him and his country, and Putin will cease his aggressions.
ADDENDUM to pmpmpm: there is such a thing as delusional optimism.
I am hopeful that we get a solid connection to Russia and Trump soon. Perhaps thru Bank Records, Epstein Estate, Whistleblowers? America needs to understand that there is more to Epstein. Trump's behavior with Putin signals a strong relationship more than likely based in blackmail.
Bless Ukraine and their democracy and decency. Come on Europe! We need you to step up!
Americans deserve better.
All one ever needs to know about Tdrump's "humanity" can be deeply inhaled with one quick glance at the ultimatum he gave Ukraine yesterday.
TDrump has no humanity.
He is inhuman.
A., Russian connection could rid us of Trump Administration, Cabinet, etc.
Kind of fits that Epstein noted in one of his emails That Trump having "not one decent cell in his body." I have met some very bad people, none as bad as Trump." (Feb 2017)
Even obvious to Epstein. Kind of like looking in a mirror, but right on!
Americans deserve better.
Epstein refers to another person's lack of decency. . . .
C, Comical, huh? "Pot calling the kettle black." So sad.
Americans deserve better.
SOMEBODY or group of somebodies who are very powerful are at the center of the holdback of the Epstein files, including but beyond Trump, who is also always doing the bidding of the oil and gas industry (climate, drilling, etc.). They are watching Larry Summers' demise, losing sleep, and sweating profusely from feeling the heat from the fires of their own self-made hell.
It would appear that Don the Con is just now figuring out that being a dictator is a whole lot of work. Not what he signed on for. For one thing, interferes with tee times.
My profound thanks to Norm, Jen & the whole team for being one of the very, VERY few papers in the country to unequivocally stand with justice and democracy. Most others seem to feel that what is right for their pocketbook is also right for our country.
We need to fix that now. We must get big money OUT of politics.
Keep resisting. All actions matter.
The WH East Wing reconstruction. The July 4, 2026 celebrations. I want to hear what's being done to ensure that there is no further construction at the White House without impartial professional oversight. I want to hear how Philadelphia and Boston keep him off center stage during their events. He has no place in them, given his efforts to destroy all that our Revolution and our independence was about.
These matters aren't as atrocious as are his misuse of ICE and murders on the high seas. They don't compare with all the other cruelties of this Administration. But they are emblematic of his (mis)use of unfettered presidential power to impose his self-aggrandizing priorities on the nation. It must be ended.
About Trump's messing around with the White House--he acts like he thinks he's never leaving.